What can I do About a Neighbor's Barking Dog?

We tried everything. They have a pit bull that does bomb barks at 2 am, 1am, 5 am. That gets the blood boiling. Now they have another yapper that sounds like a rooster, with a piercing high pitched bark.

They do it all on purpose. There's nothing I can do because they have a house in Mexico and are gone half the time, and their wonderful son leaves the dog there for us to enjoy. Can't use my backyard either now.

I had neighbors with the barking dog from hell. This dog would bark day and night and for some reason, it did not bother my neighbors. I could never understand that.

I am a reasonable person who understands that a dog is a dog and they will occasionally bark but this is ridiculous. I totally understand when people say they want to do away with the dog. I said the same thing, but I would never hurt any animal because it is the stupid human’s fault!

I tried many things: talked to the neighbors, called the cops, called the county government and nothing happened. It was like they do not care.

So, I went online and looked for advice on barking dogs. I found an ultrasonic device and wondered if it would stop this demonic dog. Long story short, I bought the device and turned it on and the freaking dog stopped barking. I would have never believed this if I did not see it.

I don’t really have to use the device anymore. I think the dog learned that he would hear this terrible noise anytime he barks. I’m truly happy with the product. I want to buy stock in the company. Good luck to all of you. I know how it is!

The suggestions that you make about people that don't own dogs making purchases for the person that does own a dog is ridiculous. If you choose to own a dog, you are responsible for his care and whatever goes with it. If I would want to purchase pet related things, I would have a pet myself.

Lately our neighbors put their dogs out at night, even if they are home. The dogs (not one dog) bark very loudly for very long periods of time. Sometimes I know the dogs are barking because they are outside with lightning, thunder and pouring rain.

We live in a county without noise laws, unfortunately. We used to have dogs until they died, but we didn't leave them outside at night to bark and keep others awake. They slept indoors with us. If our dogs started barking too long outside during the day, I brought them inside.

I wish our neighbors were a decent sort and would think about others. They are from another country though, and have only lived in the USA a couple of years. I wonder what it was like in the country where they lived. Maybe everyone let their dogs bark and bark and bark. Who knows?

When I moved into the building where I live, dogs weren't allowed -- it was only for decent people. Now it is disgusting. There are dogs all over and the owners don't spend time with them.

I have a rude neighbor who rents the house next door. Their dog barks all the live long day, is kept outside 24/7, barks at my guests and my family and gets the whole neighborhood of dogs going.

I have no pets, but am surrounded by dogs on all sides, even in the next community over. I have lived here for nine years and love, love, love peace and quiet and sleeping in. Well, too bad for me that doesn't happen because the lazy jerks next door won't let their dog in. They are also slobs and don't clean up their yard and don't rake their leaves that then blow into my yard.

I don't even think they are allowed to have a dog. None of the other revolving door of renters had one. I would never even say hello to these people, let alone talk nicely to them about their noise maker. Animal control is an option, I suppose. I actually have them on speed dial since some people in this area think it’s awesome to be accountable for "feral cats" who travel the neighborhood and poop and bleed all over my outdoor furniture.

You can trap them, but if that crazy feral cat lover responds to animal control, then they release the darn cat back into the wild -- my neighborhood. People are gross. O.K. Rant over. Enjoy your day. I won't.

Can't believe some of what I am reading here. O.K., a dog that barks excessively is wrong, but some of the posts seem to suggest that dogs should never bark! Sorry, but if anyone thinks I'm going to train my dog not to bark if someone tries to break into my house, then you're all mad.

The dog owner is responsible for their dog and ultimately responsible for their dog barking. The best way to confront a dog owner is through an anonymous letter. There are online sources that have dealt with a lot of barking dog cases and have formulated letters that will effectively get the dog owner to stop their dog from barking.

I sent one to my neighbor and they have been more attentive to their dog barking. They started training their dog and I have noticed the improvement. No more barking!

I am anon328037 post #109. I moved to a town that had a very strict anti-barking law. The peace is amazing! My whole block is full of normal people who have common sense. I can open my windows again! Basically I enjoy my property, you enjoy yours and if I violate your rights to use your property, then animal control and the police are coming. Just about everyone has dogs and they are well trained.

The moral of this is, even if you live in an upscale area you are going to have ignorant people. The goofy part of all this is the drunk and druggie car wash neighbor is a man child, 33 years old and beat his wife. She left and took the kid and dog. You see, when you have people whose parents buy them a nice house and they really have no responsibilities or direction in life, well, let's just say this sort of thing will happen.

While my old neighbors miss me, I really enjoy where I live now. At 48 years old, I have learned two things from my barking dog experience. First, never move into an unincorporated area. The property tax break is not worth not having basic services.

Second (which has nothing to do with dogs or that neighbor) is never buy a house with a shared driveway unless you intend on piling snow next to your house. For years I had a snow blower and had to bring all the snow towards my house.

As for my man-child car wash neighbor, he basically sits outside watching a fire and getting drunk and stoned every night until 2 a.m. He is all alone and the neighbors now have to put up with the smoke. I'm glad I moved. Sometimes you have to or resort to violence. The hell if I'm going to pay some punk a settlement because he got what he deserved. It was easier to just move.

I have a dog that barks occasionally, but the problem is that I am deaf and could not hear it at all. I don't want to disturb my neighbours, but I could not hear and quiet the dog when it is barking. What can I do ?

I am so sick of barking dogs, and dogs who get through the fence and crap in my yard.

Guess what, folks? I do not own a dog. I do not want a dog. And I don't want to have to deal with yours. My cat doesn't annoy you. My parakeets don't crap in your yard. My fish doesn't corner you in the dark in your own yard, lunging and snarling at you. Dogs are a huge responsibility and 90 percent of their owners don't take responsibility for them.

Why should I have to sit here all day, working from home, listening to the dog next door who barks for four hours every day? Why should I have to have four little four-legged dust mops yapping at me every time I go out to work in my garden? Why should I have to step in dog poo in my yard, when I do not own a dog because I don't want to step in poo?

Why should I not be able to enjoy the house that it took me a year to purchase when the jerk renters across the street won't do anything, once again, about their stupid dog, despite the fact that they shut it up previously with a bark collar (which it wore for two weeks) and it finally stopped the barking for six months? This poor animal sits in his cage all day in the freezing cold and barks. And barks. And barks. Try working while you're listening to that crap. I am so unbelievably tired of lazy dog owners.

I am a dog owner and I know that dogs bark, but we have never let our dog bark without us stopping her. Consistently barking dogs are the results of lazy, inconsiderate neighbors. I have a perfect example. Our neighbors on one side of the house have two fairly large dogs they let out to play. Whenever we are outside at the same time, they bark at us. These neighbors will immediately call their dogs in. On the other hand, the neighbors behind us have seven beagles. They are all outside dogs. We can't even enjoy our backyard without at least three of them starting to howl and bark, but we will not hear a peep out of the neighbors. The dogs also bark late at night usually from midnight to 5 a.m.

When approached about the noise,they always say dogs will bark and that's good because it keeps prowlers away. Well, I ticked them off by saying that is false, because if you never come out to see what they are barking at, then a prowler could rob you blind.

Months went by and the only thing that could be done was to call animal control. I had a month's worth of recordings and video of these dogs barking at 3 a.m. The day animal control came out and gave them a warning.

They went on vacation and left all seven of the dogs outside for a whole week. I videotaped this horrific event also. The dogs ate all of their food in one day and commenced to bark constantly for five days and nights straight.

Animal control gave them another warning, and three days later three of the dogs barked from midnight to 5 a.m. I and my other neighbor video taped it and took it over to tell them to talk about it. They literally said the dogs aren't that loud and accused us of altering the video to make it sound that loud.

Five months later, we are now having to go to court. That's right, court, because of lazy owners not wanting to do anything about their barking dogs.

I have had a recent experience with this, myself.

We got a puppy this December and as a rescue, she has been difficult. We have been working with her and training her not to bark outside. She does well unless someone else in our neighborhood decides to leave their barking dog outside, unattended, to go crazy. Whenever she starts barking, we bring her inside or go outside and use it as a training experience. We are not irresponsible owners and never leave her out there to go nuts.

Anyhow, this weekend some idiot comes running up to our door and pounds on it until my boyfriend answers. I have no idea who this person was and he was hostile and rude! He proceeds to tell us that his mom is a little old lady in our development and she can’t stand our dog's incessant barking all day.

Lies. We work. The dog is not outside when we are not home. Period. What is this loser talking about? He continued to completely exaggerate the situation and make excuses why his mommy couldn’t come and say something (she walks her little dog in front of our house all the time – she could have easily said something). Then he proceeds to tell us that the entire development is talking about us, yet we haven’t heard a peep from anyone!

I was beside myself. We are new to the neighborhood and are the youngest couple. Why are we the most mature? People would rather talk about us than just come over and say hi and ask us to work on the issue?

People, if you have a problem with someone, tell them directly, in a polite way first. We are not cavemen and we are more than happy to work more with her barking. As responsible dog owners, we have already taken care of the problem and got a training collar for our pup. She is doing great with it!

This was the most rude, unnecessary interaction I have ever had. But we are not the bad guys in the situation. Remember, we are all humans. People make mistakes, have different thresholds and expectations.

With that said, if they are hostile, then all bets are off. If our neighbor’s son steps foot on our property again his face will be swiftly met with my boyfriend’s fist.

The doctrine of quiet enjoyment, the obvious cause and often expressed legislative intent of most dog/noise laws/ordinances, is why police/animal control are called, but even if the complaint is true and well-witnessed, you have to put up with it for a long, long time or you're the aggressor? Um, just raise your voice just once in a public place or lot, and see how security/police fly into your face.

Have dogs become such a therapy for frustrated people that to complain about incessant barking is the equivalent to withholding medications? Nothing else explains the pity for dog nuisance keeping and "shame, shame!" for even one blue or loud outburst once from a human.

I'm at my wit's end about walking my dog. She's already not the most friendly dog thanks to being rushed, lunged at, and bothered from the time she was a puppy by aggressive off leash dogs. Now we've moved to a new area and whenever we walk her past this one house, the dogs go insane and rush the windows and bark aggressively. This set her off and she pulls me across the road toward them. I am sick of bad mannered dogs. I hate walking my dog.

@anon337579: Get a video camera that faces her house so you can record her actions. Save the tapes. Then, hire an attorney. It stinks that you have to since she is the problem, but you're going to have to do it. See if the attorney will start civil proceedings against her, and then, see if he or she will intercede with the District Attorney to file charges against her for filing a false police report against you. That's a criminal charge. In my state, it's a Class A misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail and up to a $6,000 fine.

Just make sure you document *everything.*

I have two outside bulldogs, and a min-pin that stays inside. The bulldogs wear the wireless collars. My neighbor came and told me that she didn't sleep one night and I apologized, and took care of the situation, I thought.

A couple of days went by and the animal control officer came out to check my dogs. They made sure their collars were working, and they had food, water and all that good stuff. Since we are not in the city limits, the ACO told me as long as I make an attempt to shut them up, everything would be just fine. We are under no ordinances. Well, that same night, the dogs started barking at 10:03 p.m. Since I live in a two story house, and the alarm was set, it's just easier to open my bathroom window (which I did), only to find my neighbor literally hanging out of her window, enticing my dogs to bark! I yelled, "Shut up!" Boy, did I take a cussing from her! Not only did she cuss me, she was barking at my dogs!

She called the cops, and when they got here I was explaining what was going on, and while I was talking to the officer, she baked again and got my dogs to barking! I thought that was the end of our problems (I was hoping she felt embarrassed). Wrong. I have seen her, (along with some friends who come over) calling my dogs to their boundary closest to her house and when they get just as close as they can, she takes pictures of them and yells and screams as if they are attacking her! She even poured hot wax on my min-pin that day! Crazy woman, is all I can say!

A week or so later, I was sitting around relaxing this past Monday morning, and here come two cop cars saying, “We have a warrant for your arrest!” What? My charges were "permitting dogs to run at large." How? They have 90 feet from my kitchen window where they are allowed, to "run at large." This can't be true! The officer looked at them and all that good stuff and well, guess what? My two children got to watch their mama go to jail! I had a $500 cash bond for an absolutely absurd charge. (I think so, anyway) But it's all right. It looks like the sergeant (the arresting officer) would have known better than to come out of his limits to arrest someone on a charge that's not going to stand, right?

All of this is new to me. If you know what's right or wrong. please tell me.

Like most people posting, we're currently being bothered by our neighbors' barking dogs. The dogs wake us up at 6 a.m. on our days off. They bark when we go out to enjoy our yard. They bark when we're inside our house.

I've ordered one of the anti-barking devices and look forward to trying that. If that doesn't work, I'm going to invest in some heavy duty outdoor speakers and a sound system, and blast them with my favorite tunes when the dogs bark.

If that doesn't work, I'll put together barking records and audio recording, and take them to small claims court. I did this 20 years ago to their neighbor/brother when their rooster was waking us up at 4 a.m. The judge fined him $100, and told him I could bring him back to court once each month and he would continue to be fined unless he got rid of the rooster.

I see a few people here defending the dog owners. Yeah, right. The reason is because they are also irresponsible. Dogs do not have the right to stop you from enjoying your home, property, job and life.

I empathize, dear victims of dog induced torture. These are the things that have worked for me: 1. Double windows / doors. 2. Laminated glass 3. Good sealing. It's important that you have a source of ventilation, for example, I keep the windows at the back of the house (where there's little noise pollution) open, and the ventilation provided by them is enough. The width of the 'dead' air space between the first and second layer of windows / doors should be as wide as you can have it. Mine is a minimum of 5 inches. The barking noise in our hall went from being extremely loud, to the point of dwarfing out conversations, to being blanked out if we turn on the fan. It's a similar system used in studio soundproofing - decoupled double entry doors and double laminated windows.

Studios use thicker laminated glass. I used the 6 + mm one, the thinnest version. It works fine. If you can afford it, go for thicker glass, but make sure the framing is strong enough to support it. Solid wooden doors work fine, but my exterior door is steel, and interior - wooden. If anyone wants more info, just ask. I's been a journey for me as well, but one where I learned quite a bit about sound, although I wasn't planning on that!

I too have an inconsiderate next door neighbor with three barking dachshunds. She lets them outside at about 7:15 every single morning (including Saturday and Sunday). All three come running through the back door, baying and barking. All day they sit in a small yard, doing nothing except barking at everything that moves before she lets them in at night.

I knocked on her door at 8 on a Saturday morning after 45 minutes of on-and-off barking. I very calmly but firmly told her that the barking was disturbing my sleep and, boy, she got really defensive! Some of my favorite "What?" comments she said were: "I like to hear my dogs bark." "Why do you sleep so late? Everyone else in the neighborhood is up by now." "Gee, you want to make friends in our neighborhood, but here you are, knocking on people’s doors." (I moved in about three months ago).

It wouldn’t bother me at all [if you played really loud music]. I wouldn’t tell you to turn it down."

"Were the dogs barking when you bought the house? Well, you knew what you were getting into."

I was just so surprised that someone who seemed so nice originally, would be so inconsiderate and have such a “deal with it” attitude. I tried to explain that I didn’t care on the weekdays, as I am up early and then leave for work. It’s just that I like to sleep later on the weekend and if she would refrain from putting the dogs out until like 8:30, it would be nice.

Our city does have an ordinance about barking dogs that her dogs violate every single day, but I’m afraid to call animal control to enforce it. The neighborhood is closely knit. Since I’m the new person and she’s a big gossip, I think she’ll turn the other neighbors against me.

Our neighbor's big dog is confined to the back yard since we have good weather all the time. So when they come home throughout the day, their dog barks its head off until they finally greet the damn thing. Rude as hell, and they know it.

We're just starting to experience this issue now, too. New tenants as of six months ago, new dog as of four months ago. The dog barks at nothing. It wasn't horrible today (three times while I was outside, about two to three minutes each time), but each time it happens, I can feel my blood pressure rising. Owners aren't home and the dog can go in and out all day via the doggy door.

I bought an ultrasonic device from amazon.com today, so we'll see how that works when I get it. Based on all the entries I've read here (and yes, I read them all!), it sounds like talking to the neighbor in person doesn't yield good results. I thought about a note taped to the door, but these new neighbors aren't the friendly types.

I live in what was a quiet upscale neighborhood. Most of the people on my block are in their late 70s to 80s. It also happens to be unincorporated. So there is no city to complain to.

I look after my mother who is 79. To condense this, I am pretty much messed up. The elderly couple who lived next door to me passed away one right after the other. The daughter put the house up for sale and a younger couple bought it. Well, actually, the husband's parents bought it for them.

Since they are heavy drinkers and druggies, the best job he could find at 32 years old was drying cars at a local car wash -- a car wash that I went to for 18 years. I don't anymore because I don't want this guy scratching my paint. This was a year ago last January.

It was pretty quiet during the first winter. Then spring came and everyone on the block found out the couple had a long haired Chihuahua. They put it on a tether that reaches within seven feet of my mom's bedroom window -- right up to the property line.

Today I found out that the tether actually lets the dog come three or four feet on my property. This dog barks and barks and they just leave it out there.

Last spring I had spoken to them a few times and while young and stupid, they seemed OK. I was wrong. Anybody who tells you to talk to your neighbors nicely about their barking dog is wrong I have thoroughly researched this and will tell you my experience.

Evidently, my neighbors had issues with complaints about their dog before when they lived elsewhere. On a nice spring afternoon, I walked next door because he was outside and the dog was barking its head off. I was like nice day! We chatted and I brought up the dog.

The first words out his mouth were, "I don't like to be threatened" and he ran into the house. I didn't even use a threatening tone. I said nothing threatening. You seem this is a legal ploy. Now that he has stated that he feels threatened by me, he will bring that up with the police. I talked to an attorney friend of mine about this. He told me not to go on the property, and be careful if I call the police because he will say I threatened him. Evidently, someone schooled him in this behavior, or a former neighbor beat him up.

I went to the county animal control and they told me what the law was. The dog can bark from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.. I said you're kidding, right? No, that is the law. My other elderly neighbors are saying, "You are young (47 is young to them). Can't you talk to him?" I told them it would be better if they did. Basically, this idiot and his wife enjoy upsetting their neighbors.

If you think for a minute that your neighbor does not know that their dog is a nuisance, then you are sadly mistaken. After researching this I have a few options. I can call the police and animal control every day until they no longer come. They are, after all, breaking no laws. But by doing this, I can have reports made and sue my neighbor. I can get my other neighbors to sign a petition but being that they're old, they are scared and they won't do it.

If I could get some signatures and reports, I can go to civil court. If I win, then the court could order them to keep the peace. My attorney says my chance of winning would be 20 percent, depending on the judge and I would have to pay legal fees.

My only option is to move. Sometimes that's the way it is and you just have to deal with it. I am not getting a criminal record for beating him up. I cannot blame the dog; it was never trained. I have a Belgian Shepherd that I took to obedience classes. She just looks at this little rat. It stands there barking its head off and my dog knows better.

I have had dogs all my life. Not one of them has ever been a menace. You are going to pull the short straw sometimes. Beating up these people or doing something to the dog is wrong. I am not giving up my civil liberties because of this.

I will move, even in this down market. My house is paid for and I have plenty of money to find another house. I read somewhere when this started that four or five people are shot every week over barking dogs. Whether that is true or not, it can be quite annoying. My realtor will handle it; she has some tricks. I have to move because I have ignorant neighbors. Oh well, that's life.

Talking does no good and I'm too old to start being a criminal. Believe me, ignorant people are going to be ignorant and that is the cold, hard fact.

There's also a computer program developed to calm down separation anxious dogs called Digital Dogsitter. The owner records his or her voice to the software and then the software plays the recorded audio back to the dog when it barks or howls alone. Worked great with our dog!

I have had this twice and I too, am a dog owner (German Shepherd). It's inexcusable for neighbors to be this inconsiderate. I tried the nice, friendly approach and received a "get lost" attitude both times. This occurred both times in "nice" neighborhoods.

What did work was police intervention and it caused zero stress between me and the neighbor. I am very sorry to hear about an above post regarding a Shep. They have a high pack tendency and hate to be alone, as most dogs do. You might consider calling the local GSD Rescue.

My neighbors are Beagles, and they are terrible parents. The people that they raised are rude, inconsiderate, and aggressive. The Beagles bark, whine and howl at everything, even their own shadow. The people who were trained by these Beagles sound exactly the same. I can’t understand why anyone would want a Beagle for their trainer, or anything else. They appear to be mentally impaired, and will only make the people who haven’t had Beagle training mad.

I suspect that there is an ongoing program to destroy the peace and quiet in every neighborhood by introducing uncontrollable people and the dogs that actually produce the horrible noises. My neighbors hate me for not enjoying listening to their marvelous noise makers. I have given up my entire back yard, simply because if I go outside, and make any noise, the sweet and sour pitch of Beagle barking, (Something you have to experience to believe) will begin, and last the duration.

My research into the lifespan of Beagles indicates that on average, a Beagle lives about seven years. (you’ve heard about seven years bad luck).

I do know that the people owned by Beagles aren’t the brightest candles ever lit, at least around here. There are no solutions. If dogs move into the homes next door, be prepared for an existence of constant stress, and stay aware of the people that they bring with them. Neither will show any respect or concern for others.

My neighbor is the nicest guy in the world, but his barking dog is putting a strain on our friendship. I work from home, get up about 7:30, or at least I would like to. The dog barks at 7:00 a.m. then again at noon, 4 p.m., 7:30 p.m. I can't talk on the phone to clients during this time.

They never walk this dog and as soon as they let him out, he comes out barking. I bought one of those anti-bark devices which did not work. I paid $60 for t. I talked to my neighbor about it and he just said, "Yeah he is real barky." I'm reaching my limit.

My neighbor has a german shepherd and it barks on and off all day. It has the loudest dog bark I've ever heard. It's so loud that even with all the windows closed, it's still loud.

They leave the dog in the backyard all day even though there is almost always at least one person home! Why the heck do you get a dog if you're just going to leave it out all day?

I haven't seen them walk it in years, and german shepherds are one of the highest energy dogs you can get. It's animal abuse no doubt, but they don't give a crap. They also have another dog that they keep inside all day. They only leave the barker out for some reason.

It's the owner's fault all the time. Dogs can be taught not to bark, but most dog owners are simply too lazy to bother. If it doesn't bother them, they reason, it shouldn't bother anybody else. Honestly, these idiots shouldn't be allowed to own a gerbil, let alone a dog; responsibility is a foreign concept to them.

The day will come when they want peace and quiet, either because they've a sleeping baby, they're working shifts, they're studying, they're ill or they're old and then they'll know what it's like to live with noise that is distressing. Anyone who can ignore the needs of babies, the sick or the elderly is an unpleasant person, but thankfully karma has a way of evening the score.

I'm sorry, but I'm getting sick of dog owners who defend their dogs' barking as if this is something that should be tolerated.

It's not your right to own dogs, it's a privilege, and one that 90 percent of dog owners abuse. And to be quite frank, those same 90 percent don't deserve to own pets. It's an absolute shame to be honest. I feel bad for the dogs; it's not their fault.

I have two Rottweilers in a fence adjacent to my yard. Complaints to animal control, local politicians, and the police about the noise and public safety issue have had very limited success. The neighbor does have to take them in at night, however. I've recently bought the "Dog Silencer Pro" which is an overrated underperformer.

At this point I'm considering taking the tenant's landlord to court for interfering with my quiet enjoyment of my property. Needless to say, neither my tenant neighbor nor the landlord and I are on friendly terms.

I should add that I have been a homeowner for 40 years and this is the first time I've ever called the police about a problem neighbor. And no neighbor has ever called the police because of a problem with me.

Unfortunately, some posters are a perfect example of the problem. Some people do not or cannot understand that sound propagates freely and will invade any environment until it dies out.

If your dog barks at every person who passes outside your house then it is you who created the problem in the first place, and not your neighbors. You moved into the neighborhood and started bothering everybody, not them.

It does not matter if it is a barking dog, a constantly talking parrot, a teenager playing loud music, someone fighting with their spouse, or whatever. If you make noise and the people next door complain about it, it is your responsibility to stop it.

Stop making noise! We do not own the airwaves, we just share them. Do these people understand what sharing means? Probably not and that's what's so pathetic about all these problems. In most situations like this, the problem starts because most dog owners are deeply ignorant of what it really takes to responsibly have a dog in a city or a suburb (e.g. a non rural area).

I can sympathize with some of you, but being on the other end, I have to say that people can be real jerks and sometimes they ask to be barked at. I have lived in my home for eight years. We have had dogs the entire time. I had a medium sized dog who, after a year of being sweet as pie, suddenly became aggressive while out in our fenced in yard. After five years of having this dog, we had him put to sleep because it got the point where we were afraid for everyone's safety in this neighborhood with a lot of kids and people. Our remaining dog, a chihuahua, then started to bark even though she never had and started going after my neighbors as they walked by our fence.

We ended up getting another chihuahua, who, after a little while became the same way. Now normally, our dogs will bark when someone walks by but they stop after the person is gone. As for my other neighbors, the dogs rarely bark at them and I even have video proof of that. We never let our dogs out at night and only for short periods during the day so they don't bark long, even when they do. Honestly, it annoys us too, after so long, so we try to prevent it.

Anyway, eight years after moving here, my neighbor came out of her house early one morning and told my mother she was videotaping our dogs and taking us to court over the barking. Any time before that if the dogs were barking she would say "they're just doing their jobs." Well. even though a mom myself and an adult I flipped her the bird after I found out about it and saw how she upset my mother.

Since then, my family has been on the end of many attacks. I have had to call the police on this woman because when I'd be outside with my kids playing, she would start yelling at me. Then she would make comments about how she wished my kids would fall when playing (at the time mostly my son who was 2 then and 3 now). She would drive past my nine year old daughter as she got off the bus and say hi to her or wave to her to scare her. Our house suddenly started getting ding dong ditched and we keep finding foreign objects on our property.

The woman parks her car on our lawn to tick us off, et. We went out and got another dog for protection. This dog doesn't bark (she's a husky mix) and our chihuahuas rarely go out due to the colder weather (they get cold quickly). The worst part is that the neighbors have a dog who barks all the time now. They used to let it run loose and it came onto my property and growled at my children. My other neighbors who she claims hate us too also have dogs that bark all hours of the day and night (my dogs are done going out before 9 p.m. for the night) and I have videos of this woman admitting that it is OK for other dogs to bark; it's just not OK for our dogs to bark.

They also have parties where they all use drugs and drink and set off fireworks at all hours. To top it off, this woman and her husband are like 60 years old. One of my neighbors is a town vet, as well. So when someone complains about barking dogs sometimes they're just jerks who don't like their neighbors, not the dogs.

I also think that my neighbors have been hurting my dogs and that's why my dogs bark at them and them alone. And the nice crazy lady who breaks more laws in one day than I have in my whole life is also a bible school teacher. If people only knew what everyone on my street has been up to.

All I wanted was to raise my kids in a nice neighborhood and for eight years, I thought that's where I lived. It was the kind of place where your kids could play in the street. Now we live in a neighborhood where my kids are constantly worried that someone will hurt them or try to and all because of this one crazy lady who, for no reason whatsoever, suddenly decided she didn't want our dogs to bark, ever. It's pathetic and so from this point on, I will never stop my dogs from barking and honestly take great pleasure in it when they do.

This person moved in beside me about a week ago. You don't even know she has a dog until she leaves the house in the afternoon, which is when it whines, barks and digs at the door.

I left her a kind note simply saying "please keep your dog quiet, as my toddler is napping when you go out and we would all appreciate having silence". Well, she posted a letter back saying, "He barks when I leave the house. If you don't like it, then don't live in a building where they allow dogs."

I called animal control and they said "sorry we don't deal with these issues. Call the bylaws" So I guess my next step is to notify the super about the issue. Don't get a dog if you refuse to spend the time to train and exercise it.

I can relate! In my experience, being nice doesn't work. I would suggest confronting the dog owner politely, but only once. After that, get your local animal control or code enforcement officer involved. They can issue a warning and or they can issue a citation that carries a probable fine. Be sure to record the barking, the date and time, so you have evidence to back up any complaints or citations if the dog owner should contest it in court.

I have very rude neighbors and have done this for three years without results. I finally had to resort to a letter threatening a lawsuit (which is perfectly within your rights. You have a right to peaceful enjoyment of your home). After three years, this did the trick and they finally got the message. I would have done this sooner had I known I could!

If you live in apartments, the landlord won't do anything to help you. The law will. I am here to get the word out to people like you. Be aware of your rights and don't let inconsiderate neighbors ruin your life! Good luck!

In our city, Bellevue, WA, they tell you to call 911 for a barking dog. For almost everything involving the police, we are told to call 911 and talk to an officer. Of course, waking up to a barking dog to most of us would be considered an emergency.

Unfortunately, it is also up to the officer's discretion on what to do and they rarely handle barking dogs unless it is at night, and even then they may not respond.

To all the morons who think we want to hear their dog, their day will come! And ironically, they will wonder why.

All Sunday morning was ruined by a dog on the next block constantly barking for at least four hours straight. This was after I tried to go to sleep about 11 p.m. and was awakened by the rude idiot next door putting his dog out for a few minutes after 11:30 p.m. -- enough to wake the whole house up. The little yapper across the way barks at everything and was barking all last night, and part of tonight. We have just about given up going out in our own yard.

Tomorrow morning, the first sounds I will hear are either the 4 a.m. dog barking or the the next door idiot putting his dog out before 7 a.m. I am working at home tomorrow and hope my day is not ruined by the dog first mentioned who will then be barking all day almost non-stop.

I do not even know where to begin with these problems. Why are people so inconsiderate? Are they deaf? This cannot be good for the dogs either. I am seriously thinking of selling the house. There is no peace, quiet, or relaxation here.

I have been awakened by my neighbor's dog(s) at various hours of the day and night. It barks loudly and frequently for several hours at a time. Come on dog owners, show some common respect to your neighbors especially if you live close to other people. What happened to people's common courtesy?

I live out in the country and because of that there are no laws regarding barking dogs. My neighbors have five barking dogs that they leave out all day on their porch, and of course, even when I open my kitchen door they bark. They bark at their own shadows.

I have reported them to our HOA and this is what I received. This website! Obviously, they are not willing to do a thing about the barking dogs because the owners are lawyers!

Last year my husband was gravely ill and I asked them to please do something about the barking. Their response: "The dogs only bark when your dog is out". Nothing. Anyway, I guess there is no answer except for me to learn to live with it. I have installed a silent dog barking device but that does no good either. It cost me over $80 bucks for it, and for what?

When it goes off my dog will not even go outside so I know it must work, only not for these yappers. My next solution? Sell my house and pray I don't get worse neighbors!

Some people should see how it feels on the other side. We live on the outskirts of a town, almost in the countryside. I work from home as does my wife. We have two bassets (therapy dogs for my autistic son) and they may bark two times, twice a day between them (it's usually, "there we've finished our meal so let us in and we'll sit here now." They are on raw meat diet so it's not good to have it in the house on the floor).

We've lived here for 16 years and now a new neighbor moves in and has complained about dogs constantly barking outside (the neighborhood has roughly 12 other dogs in it, some of which are left outside, and I have reported them to the RSPCA), but our neighborhood has decided to get the council on my back because I have dogs. They aren't the ones barking though and I've tried to explain it to him. Our dogs have only ever barked at one neighbor and that was the last one when he jumped into our back garden while they were out. The police were chasing him and he thought he could hide in our backyard.

Thank you post 64 -- well written. After having read many posts on different sites, at least 90 percent of them must be people living in Mayberry. Oh, just take the neighbors cookies; it works every time. Please. There are only a few things that work every time: some kind of collar, putting the dog inside, or reasonable physical intervention - yes folks, Pavlov was onto something.

I know it's breaking people's hearts everywhere that dogs need spankings (not beatings) too. Dogs respond to unpleasant stimulus just like people do. If the owner took the initiative to give a crap about his/her neighbors, be present with the animal as it barks, and correct the situation, none of us would be on here complaining. And in my family's seven years of listening to two dogs bark from the adjacent yard, one that was left to rot outside and another that is treated better than many human children, I can tell you that 99 percent of dog owners do not care what anyone thinks about "raising or training" his or her own dog.

Until there are actual hard laws on the books in your community that are enforced (which nobody seems to want to do), dealing with this problem means just that - dealing with it. I hate having to put up with it, and I'm sure other people hate it, but that's life. Who cares if you fall out with your neighbor(s)? they obviously don't care enough about your feelings to simply control their pet. They know their dog is barking. My advice is to ask politely once, inform assertively twice, and then do what you have to do to feel better about yourself.

In our case, it involves me occasionally kicking the chain link fence with the dog's face on it as it barks, spraying it with a hose, and simply going outside when our neighbor is outside with her dogs so that she is forced to at least be confronted with the noise as she tries to enjoy her backyard. Does any of this work? Not really, because the owner is the only one who can make it work and often times, he or she just doesn't get it.

Make love not war. A good neighbor is better than a bad friend. Have a talk with him and stay nice and explain you need your rest etc.

Don't start calling cops for stuff like this. A dog barks like a cat meows and like we talk. It's nature guys, and often the people owning the dogs can't keep them from barking from time to time.

Calling the cops and stuff will get you worse neighbors and you will end up them pestering you with making the dog bark on purpose. The way to go is a nice chat with them and stay friends, not hateful people.

My neighbor's dog barks when it wants inside (after going to the bathroom). They work shift work, so it barks at 4 a.m. It is for a short duration of time (less than a minute or two) but I am sleeping and it wakes me up. What can I do?

I have a notorious neighbor who has three dogs. They live in the upper floor in our condo complex and they have a balcony. They always let the dogs go to the balcony to urinate.

Once I told her that over the phone and they didn't even answer the phone. They sent mt a text message, saying I tired to harass them with my calls. Oh my God, this is a headache to me now. Those dogs pee always and every thing pours on my ground. What can I do? Please help.

I am glad to see that more people contribute their (bad) experiences with irresponsible dog owners. Again, always remember people, it is not the dog's fault if the owner is an idiot. We all love dogs. It's their ignorant and indifferent owners we are after. Keep the comments coming.

At some point, everybody (especially when it comes to city officials establishing ordinances) will realize that one's right to dog ownership should not entitle (anyone) to encroach on everybody else's right to enjoy a (quiet) home environment. Thank you!

There are a lot of dogs on the street I live on in Gainesville Fla., and several barking dogs.

We do have a ordinance that says if a dog barks for 10 minutes or three different times in 30 minutes the police will come out and give the owners one warning. If a complaint is filed again within one year the fine is $250, a second call and the fine doubles.

I work nights so I need my sleep, plus the barking lowers the quality of life. I understand the dog must release his or her energy. Take the dog for walks, use a treadmill, take him to a pool. They all help.

if you own a dog, you should live on a farm. Why on earth do people get dogs and then leave them in a house or in a back yard all day? Sounds like dog abuse to me. and you know what else? Sounds selfish as well.

I have a neighbor with three barking dogs that live outside morning, noon and night, and guess what? They bark morning, noon and night. Abuse, abuse, abuse.

Been there done all of that. My advice, seriously, is don't say a word about it. Take matters into your own hands and re-locate the offending animal.

A stupid neighbor woman living alone with two beagles in Calgary, always leave her dogs out to bark at night, and wakes everyone up, and she thinks it's fun and OK! The police won't do anything, mediation won't do anything, city animal services and bylaws can't do anything, and even helping her out by taking care of her dogs when she is gone won't make her change. She doesn't care and believe that her "beautiful" beagles are not annoying to others when they constantly bark!

She doesn't take them for walks and she obviously doesn't care for them. They are lonely, miserable and need attention. All we can do is to move away from that senseless woman. People like her are miserable, self centered, egocentric and careless, only can see their belly button, and are not fit to live in society with others around.

There should be a law to ban idiots from being able to have the responsibility and care of animals. She has demonstrated over and over again her lack of intelligence, and ability to properly care for, nurture and raise dogs. What a retarded woman! No wonder she is still alone, and probably will be for the rest of her life. She has told us that her beagles are more important than our children, and they should be allowed to go out when our school age children are sleeping and bark if they feel like it. Our children should learn to appreciate being woken up every night by her dogs. What a stupid, worthless person!

my neighbor had the same problem but one day he was whistling and the dog stopped barking at him and now they get along. maybe it was just that dog or it might work for all dogs.

To: anon192622: Post 62

That does sound very annoying, however, I don't think you should judge them and call the man an "ex felon." Some people are less fortunate than others. Some people find tattoos artistic. His appearance shouldn't tell you who he is as a person. And who cares if they go to the store in their pajamas? Personally, I don't do that, but I don't see why you should care if they do.

To me, it sounds like you just like to complain and judge everyone around you. If you have a problem with them, talk to them. They'll never know there's a problem if you don't tell them. If I were you, I would start with a "Mr. Ex Felon..." I'm sure he would really like that.

People are the problem, not the dogs.

Actually, I keep my dogs in the house only and diaper them.

My jerk neighbor actually calls the police and complains, "I hear barking inside the house."

I would say, it is the neighbor, not the dogs that is the problem. Think about it.

I agree, dogs are not the problem. People, their owners, are.

Unfortunately, litigation is not an option. It is too much to deal with, too expensive, too much time, questionable if poor results, statistically speaking.

I wish I could walk into the appropriate city hall/local police dpt. with a log of pictures, video and audio proof and be able to file an anonymous complaint. This won't happen either. For some reason, the laws protect dogs more than humans.

Have you any feedback on a device that can detect dog barking up to 75 feet and then be configured to emit a certain (high) frequency that the dog associates as "scolding" and pretty much trains itself to not bark after some time?

I saw something called "ultimate bark control." It sounds too good to be true, costing $89.99 with a 30-day money back guarantee!

Anyway, thanks for the chat. At least venting is better than keeping it in.

Dogs aren't the problem, stupid people are. Don't try the police, don't try mediation, don't try being nice, don't try kind letters, it's all useless. Get even! Get a dog(s) that barks louder than theirs! Be stupider than them, make sure your neighbors enjoy their evenings, nights, and weekends, smile at them and wish them a nice day!

If you have asked the neighbor to keep their annoying dog(s) from barking and they still won't do it, then get your video camera out and record how long their dogs bark. Also, keep a record. Then, file a police report or call animal control and provide evidence. Also, they will have a log of when you report it.

If the neighbor still won't do anything about the barking, sue them. You will have your records, videos, and proof from animal control that you called. Hurt them in their pocket.

Unless you live in a farm in the middle of Montana or the cornfields of Iowa, keeping dogs that bark-off at anything that comes into their sight, is at best inconsiderate but really is unneighborly, irresponsible and uncivilized. People who keep dogs in city condos or even suburban houses should make sure that their dogs are trained (especially bark-trained) so they do not bark. If they still do bark after training, perhaps a special collar will help. If they still bark, then the dog has some issues and perhaps they should invest into a different dog. There are, you know, dogs who can be taught the difference between barking at pretty much anything and all the time and barking *only* when there is indeed a reason to bark in order to alert their owner such as an intruder, a fire, a flood, etc. Dogs can be trained to recognize a legitimate threat, but they should not bark every time the mailman is at the door, or the kids next door play on their lawn, or a car passes by, or a squirrel goes up the tree, or the wind makes the leaves rustle, or, or, you name it.

To all of you saying how lovely your dogs are, no one argues the opposite. All we are saying is that because our houses have thin walls or are physically located close to each other, a dog's barking, being a sound, and sound propagates freely, is a nuisance to all nearby people and sound-pollution has been determined to be -- and really is -- detrimental to other people's health.

So please, dog owners: Stop being ignorant, defensive or even indifferent to your neighbors. If your dog(s) bark-off, even once or for a split second, you can count that it can be heard from your neighbors. And your neighbors should not have to be subjected by you to any unnecessary, unwanted or unpleasant activity.

Remember, this is not about how lovely you think you dog is. This is about being responsible, considerate, civilized to your neighbors.

You'd expect the same from them, right? I'm another victim of many barking dogs.

I have neighbors who text message during the movie. They also have barking dogs.

They drive like they own the road and violate almost every rule of the road. Sometimes I see them in Wal~Mart in their pajamas!

Their dogs crap in our front yard almost every day.

They drive huge pick-ups with the body all jacked up without mufflers.

I think my neighbor is an ex felon. He has tattoos all over his arms and his pants below his rear end. His dog looks like it has mange.

What can I do ?

My neighbor has a dog and it drives me crazy. My neighbor doesn't have a fence that seals off the backyard and the front, so whenever the dog hears us outside, it comes tumbling around to bark at us. In fact, of all the people on our block it only barks at my brother and me. We are slightly coloured so maybe it's racist.

The dog will continue barking until we go back inside and will sometimes step on our property. It's outrageous and I would consider it harassment. Whenever the dog owners hear its barking, they will step outside and order the loud, obnoxious beast back on their property. They then step back inside and the problem persists. I want that creature gone! what should i do?

Some of you people think that we, the sufferers from your dogs, should have "the decency to complain to you" about your animals barking all day and night, for days, weeks, months, or even years?

We assume you just don't care. We are right!

People! If they don't have the respect to keep their dogs from barking all day and night, they won't respect you! call the law! let the law handle it, and when they don't respect the law, it will come out of their pocket!

I've got a loud barking, for her size, small dog. You'd be happy having me for a neighbor. I escort my dog outside every morning and if it's late at night also to catch her if she starts up.

During my days off, i immediately get her and bring her in if i hear the first bark-off, no matter what I'm in the middle of. What all you people are suffering there is terrible, because of the low intelligence of irresponsible dog owners (noticed i didn't say dog lovers). They have low intelligence as they can't put themselves in yours or their pets' perspective.

I recently had a neighbor with three dogs who moved in next door. The dogs had excessive barking and lunged at me when I was outside without my dog. After approaching them they stated it was my dog and it's their property.

The animal warden is my next call. Now i suffer as well, even though i take care of my 'family' and my neighbor was a jerk. When i got complaints from neighbors for a goodbye honk from a friend leaving or a tree branch needing cut, I said "I'm sorry and will take care of it." No confrontation from me as i take responsibility for my life and try to make the world a nicer and more pleasant place.

To the person who says just grow up: You try living next to someone who has two dogs that bark, whine and howl every time they leave the house. Then tell me how pleasant you are after you have had to listen to it for eight hours! I have been putting up with nuisances for two years now. I have tried talking to the neighbors, who admitted they didn't know it was happening, but they also did not apologize and nothing has changed since. In fact, the husband had to keep his wife behind the door as she yelled obscenities at me. How could I have the nerve to complain - they are rescue dogs! I think it is great they rescue dogs but I have not taken on that responsibility and do not want to hear them!

I live in a condo and have complained to the HOA, which does not respond. I have also bought the Bark Off device which does not seem to help. I don't think it is strong enough to go through the walls. I am contemplating contacting animal control at this point.

These neighbors also taken their dogs outside off the leash every day which is a violation of the association rules. I had my face bitten open by a dog when I was little. I do not hate dogs, I actually like them, but I know firsthand what bad owners can make dogs do. I am at my wits end! Help!

Grow up! this makes me so mad! I just got a letter about our dog barking, and he's a puppy in training. They say put him in the basement, and he's alone for an hour, two or three times a week that's it. Only time he barks, and I get a nasty letter. Whatever. That ticks me off.

They had the nerve to say it's because they work nights. Earth to them so does my husband, so he's home with him all day without a lot of barking.

So sometimes I just think that people are being jerks and need to give it some time before complaining. Seriously, I have barely lived here a month and had the dog for a few weeks. What happened to welcoming neighbors?

Just a side note: this dog doesn't bark when there is someone at home. He only does it because he's lonely. Sorry if you can hear it through our home. It's not like we're putting him outside for the world to hear.

So sometimes we do care, and there really is nothing we can do about it. My little dog is in training, so I hope for common courtesy. Most of you are respectful enough to wait before complaining.

I have four dogs. We have a doggy door that they can use to go in and out of our fenced backyard when we are at home. Otherwise, they are in the house - doggy door off limits.

They do bark from time to time, but we give them attention when they do(if we're home), and gently scold them if they continue to bark.

On a couple of occasions we have come home to find a note taped to our screen door stating that one of our dogs barks non-stop when in the backyard or on the back deck, and would we please do something about it.

The end result was for us to make sure she was in the house when we were at work.

However, there is a catch here. The dog that they were complaining about will bark non-stop when a neighbor's dog enters our back yard by crawling under the fence whether we're home or not. This dog has also attacked the dog that barks at him. The owner of the dog refuses to take any measures to keep him from wandering the neighbourhood, because he doesn't hurt anything. The funny thing about this is, we're starting to think it's this neighbor who has left the notes.

We are doing the best we can with our dogs. I can understand why some would be upset/frustrated with a neighbor's dog barking all the time. But on the same note, it is unfair to identify the neighbours you are frustrated with as uncaring and inconsiderate of their pets & neighborhood.

It can be hard, but sometimes extending a bit of grace can go a long way. They may not even realize there is a problem, and a nasty note or phone call from animal control can be discouraging or even devastating. You don't know what types of things people are going through at any given time.

If a dog is barking all day it needs more exercise and more love! Offer to take it for walks. They want to be part of the pack! If a dog is neglected, contact a rescue society for help.

God help me, I have tried allegedly dog-disturbing silent whistles, regular whistles, and even magic spells -- you heard me, I practice magic!

I can't shut off the damn yappy dog across the street. I'm on floor four, they are on the second across street. This tiny dog is astonishingly, piercingly loud and persistent, at any time, anyone, any dog, any car, any thing passes by.

I can't use retaliatory noise (recommended by some bloggers/posters) as that would annoy my neighbors and violate my own lease. I don't want to start a war with the dog owners, because we both share the same management company, and I could come out looking like the jerk. I dream (literally) of an Amazonian tribal poison dart solution.

I live next door to two rottweilers that constantly bark all day and night, The owners do nothing. I work all day and every saturday and their dog wakes me up at 3 a.m. every single morning without failure.

I own a pit bull cross as well but she does not live with me due to the fact that those dogs won't stop barking. I believe owners should take responsibility for their own dogs and I am sick of being tired every single day. Now also I know that pit bulls are known to attack but for god's sake, not all of them are mean vicious creatures. It's how the owners bring them up.

Why don't people with dogs act like responsible pet owners and train their dogs not to bark constantly?

My neighbor has a dog that barks as soon as it gets out in the yard and doesn't quit until they let it in. I have lived here a year now and it is still a problem, even though I have talked to them a few times about the barking. My neighbor on the other side even went over with me once because they were being disturbed, too.

I have been woken up at all hours, because sometimes they just think its okay to let the dog out at 3:00 am. I have even gone to a hotel to get a good night's sleep.

I contacted animal control, who said they are now under-funded and under-staffed and can't handle these types of issues anymore.

An earlier dog owner above said "why can't people just talk to our face?" It's uncomfortable to confront people sometimes, especially when you don't really know them. And even when I did, they apologized profusely when I was there, but never did anything to actually fix the situation. It was useless. Some people have other things to do in their lives besides try to help someone take care of their pet.

I don't own a dog, but my neighbor does. I shouldn't have to go over there to tell them how to take care of their animal. If I owned a dog, I would take care of it and be sure the dog isn't disrupting the neighborhood. That's just me, though. Also, I have just about given up talking to my neighbors, whom I have to assume at this point just don't care. Or worse, they actually enjoy the fact the barking annoys me. I went over there one time after about an hour of constant barking, and they were wearing headphones! Can you believe that? Turning that bark machine loose on the neighborhood while they hang out in their house listening to music! Unbelievable how people can be!

I was real excited about buying a home, but now I want to sell this place and get away. All this crap I have to deal with because of stupid people who own a barking dog. Ranting here helps. It's quiet now – must get some sleep while I can.

I feel for all of you as I am in hell now, as well. I too, have been a dog owner of dogs similar to pit bulls.

When I had them, they had a fenced-in, large yard and a dog door to go in and out as they pleased. They did not bark excessively and they died from old age. Now I own a residence that is practically downtown in a large city. About 99 percent of my neighbors have dogs or cats. The dogs barking that I hear are primarily pit bulls. They have a very distinctive bark and I can hear several barking around me at any given time day or night. It is ridiculous to live in a heavily populated area practically on top of each other and the city to allow such.

Calls to police and animal control have done little. If people have enough money in these times to feed a dog and pay vet bills then they should also have to pay a tax to have pets in the city – especially disruptive, aggressive breeds such as pit bulls that are a threat to any living thing. It seems more people are getting them and it's the 'bad' reputation that is causing irresponsible owners who are most likely drug dealers and the like to flock to this breed. As far as I'm concerned they all should be 'done away with'.

Again, I have had pets although I have none now and will never have any again due to my recent experiences. Also I will do everything in my power to see that the 'pitbull' breed is made illegal. I don't understand what is wrong with people. There are little children dying from hunger and illness in the USA, not to mention other countries, and these people spend money to feed 'pets'. Wake up America. It's just around the corner.

Many people experience difficulties with their neighbors' dog barking problem. Try to express your concerns to your neighbor. If that doesn't work, call animal control.

We just moved in to a new house. The first time we heard the dog barking, we didn't think much of it, but it never stopped. All day long, every single day - It's bad and annoying, but I'm more concern about that poor german sherpard - left alone all day in a garden.

Should I report abuse? I use to have the same breed dog, so I know they can be loud, but only if some stranger's in a house or - in this case more likely - that dog just going mad because nobody is looking after it properly.

I have a neighbor from hell. I live in a duplex and own my half; he however rents. He complains about every normal sound we make, yet he plays his music so loud that it shakes the walls! We can't repair a toilet, hang pictures, work in our yard or garage, or anything that creates noise during normal daytime hours without him acting obnoxious!

I recently received a letter in the mail about my dog excessively barking, but I have been extra vigilant about it lately and he rarely barks, and especially not more than any other dog. Dogs do bark sometimes. He is a puppy and we were bringing him in at night and trying to crate train him in which he needs to bark a little and it was annoying, but he eventually got used to the crate and quit barking.

My neighbor did not have the decency to come and talk to me directly and try to act like a normal human being, he just called animal control.

This neighbor yells at the neighborhood kids and yells from his side of the duplex about every little sound we make, yet he will be yelling and cussing on the phone at midnight to someone that we can hear when we are trying to sleep! He is obnoxious! Plain and simple!

I do not want my dog to be a nuisance, he is still a puppy and we are in the process of training him. I think dogs are happier outside in the yard in the daytime where they can run around instead of being cooped up alone inside while people work. That's not inhumane, and I think that assuming that someone doesn't take care of their dog because it's outside, is ridiculous!

I got my dog to be a watchdog - he is a large breed and they generally are not happy in the house all the time! Try to see both side of the story here!

Some of you look like you have valuable reasons to complain. I guess my neighbor does in some sense, or has had as we live in the flat on top of hers.

She has complained in the past about walking in shoes inside the house which she can hear, so we bought slippers so every time we get home we immediately change, we don't listen to loud music, we don't move furniture when we know she's home (car parked outside) but she continues to complain, we've been living here for 12 years and got a dog three years ago.

We had no problem with anyone until she moved in. She's never complained about our dog in the last complaints that she's made and she's been living here for about a year and a half, and only last week she started complaining to the council about my dog. A year and a half and not one complaint about him and all of the sudden she starts. makes me feel like she just wants to bring up any stupid excuse to get us into trouble.

My dog sleeps most of the day. i take him out for his business in the morning before uni. I'm in uni for about six hours and she's not home at all during that time so she can't say he barks then. I then come home about 4, i take him out to the park, feed him and then he sleeps again until about 8 when i feed him again and wait for my sis who takes him for his night walk.

All he does is sleep. Now I'm not saying he doesn't bark because when he hears someone outside our door he does but this is not the case all the time so i don't get why this stupid woman has to go and complain to the council how my dog is constantly barking, and yeah, there are other dogs in this block of flats but she only seems to be bothering us. i wish she would come and tell us first before going to the council and nearly causing our dog to be taken away from us.

I sympathize having been a dog owner and a home owner harassed by a neighbor's dog. Currently, we have a neighbor whose high pitched akita can spend hours running around it's back yard freaking out to any little noise.

The animal barks at any noise, making it impossible to be in our back yard and have any peace. Leaving windows open during the summer just lets more noise in.

We finally left a note for our neighbor last summer and were very relieved when they seemed to start making their dog an indoor animal. Well, now spring is coming on and the dog is back out there making noise for hours.

It's obnoxious that anyone would have a dog and not take responsibility for it's behavior. If it's an excessive barker then train it not to bark or do whatever you need to do to prevent pissing off the entire neighborhood.

Our neighbor has been accumulating dogs over the last three years or so and is now breeding some of them. The dogs bark in groups day and night, but the owner doesn't seem to care. He actually likes it, and I think he likes to antagonize us.

I often wonder if he's hiding something over there and wants to keep intruders away. The owner gets very mad and defensive when we complain about the barking. Last night after I complained face-to-face, our neighbor threatened to shoot our dog if he came over on their property and admitted that he'd shot another stray on his property just recently. This neighbor is a really dangerous jerk! How would you handle him?

Lonestar Girl, perhaps you should also think about those around you. Obviously, your neighbors have issues with the noise concerning your dogs.

While it's possible that you have neighbors who would go off on a hair trigger, realize that if there are several neighbors against you, it sounds like you are the problem.

Deal with your dogs. We have two dogs, they are both kept inside, and are trained and do not bark excessively. Never had a complaint from the neighbors about them. Sounds like someone's trying to make excuses for having irritating dogs. Realize as much as those "anti dog barking" sounds may irritate you, imagine someone's home, which is supposed to be their place of rest and relaxation, being penetrated by a constant high pitch yapping of dogs, making it hostile to even walk outside their home!

To all of those who have posted: I'm a high school student and the proud owner of two dogs: a mother and one of her daughters. They are both chocolate labs and the sweetest family dogs I can imagine. However, they are loyal and protective of my family - their "pack". Which is understandable and very in tune with the ordinary psychology of a dog. They often bark at strangers and other passing dogs who get too close to our house.

Last year, our neighbors finally moved into the house next to us, which had been under near constant construction for three years (for those who haven't experienced this before - that's a lot of noise!).

To cut a long story short, our neighbors have refused to communicate with us at all after we welcomed them to the neighbor hood a year ago.

Months later, my younger sister finds a letter stuck in our mailbox which contains several threats regarding our dogs - the most severe of which involved our dogs' vocal cords being cut.

After refusing to meet with my parents, and ignoring any mail we sent back to them, my father finally pushed a letter through. We never received a reply, but were soon informed that the police had been called three times regarding the noise level of our dogs.

The police have come over, seen our neighborhood (there are at least two dogs in each house excluding our note-leaving neighbors), met with us - and disregarded the complaints so long as our dogs behave. Which they have.

The neighbors still complain, yell at our dogs through the two fences separating us, crossed onto our property to video and photograph our dogs barking at the fence in the early hours of the morning, and now I've started to hear a high pitched sound start at odd hours - mainly when our dogs start to bark or around 8 p.m. It's like the mosquito noise or a jet engine. Adults can't hear it but it makes my hair stand on end and gives me migraines. I can only assume that they've begun to use one of the many anti-barking CDs advertised on the web. Which are (surprise!) harmful to all who can hear it - including me, my sister, and their own three children. The threats against my dogs keep me up at night. The last time one of my dogs was threatened, our gate was forcibly broken and she was stolen.

So, to my frightening neighbors and to anyone who even considers acting as rudely as they have:

Think about what you are doing. Realize where you live and who surrounds you. Consider your own family and the family you're thinking about complaining to. And really? At least have the decency to go to the dog owner's face and talk something out.

-Lonestar Girl (Please excuse the spelling - I'm still sleep deprived from worrying about my dogs' well being.)

We have dogs that live outside, but we do put them up at night when we go to bed. We live in the country with very few neighbors.

We now have a new neighbor who, if any dog in the neighborhood barks for even 5 minutes he calls 911 to complain. I'm thinking that he is breaking the law more than anybody by calling 911 for a barking dog. If they were living next to somebody illegally raising dogs that barked most of the day and night, I could see getting animal control involved. If it was a neighborhood with houses 20 feet apart with dogs barking at the fence outside his window, I could understand. But really, five minutes. That is not a nuisance dog, that is a nuisance neighbor.

I read somewhere that you should put a video of the barking dog online. As long as it is filmed from your own property and you cannot see into the neighbor's windows, it is legal.

Wow! This barking dog problem is certainly sounding like an epidemic. My neighbor has three dogs who are chained up just a few feet from my bedroom windows. They are kept outside for hours on about 6 foot leashes and are forced to stand in piles of their own feces, which the neighbor neglects to clean up.

I feel bad that the dogs are so neglected, but I cannot stand the constant barking. One of the dogs can see me if I am standing near my bay window and will bark at me as I move inside my own house! Every time I step outside the idiot dogs bark at me until I go back in.

I just don't understand why people get dogs if they are not responsible enough to train them and care for them properly.

Through experience I have learned that anyone insensitive enough to leave their dog in a situation where it barks on and on, without regard for their neighbors, does not give a Bleep about either the dog or the neighbor, and any polite attempt at solving the issue is a waste of time.

I have now moved to my second home with a neglected dog. I was so happy to move from my last neighbor and her neglected dog and now I have another that barks five times as much and also in a family rural neighborhood.

Apparently the last owner did not complain, or got nowhere if he did.

I think the solutions of providing an equally disturbing noise or event are probably the best solutions. After having been kept up until 2 a.m. with barking the other night, I decided that using the car alarm might be a good way to try and get the message across. I have to make sure the neighbors are home though, and not out.

What bothers me the most is knowing that the dog is barking because it is neglected.

I had lived in a house that was surrounded by dogs that were left out at night and they would constantly bark. I contacted the neighbors about the nuisance but they refused to put the dogs in at evening. I contacted the police and animal control on a couple of occasions, they spoke with the neighbors but this only remedied the situation for a couple of days.

Finally I was fed up, and I started sleeping at my GF's house (a block away). I would have her pick me up and as we pulled away I would set off my car alarm and let it go off for a couple of hours. I think the neighbors got the point after a couple of nights because I have not heard the dogs since.

I have neighbors that have two large shepherds. They constantly leave them out on their side porch which is only a few yards away from my house. I can't move in my house without them barking at me! In my own house! You have no idea how aggravating that is!

Then they just leave them out late at night barking and barking. Again if they were not so close to my home and maybe on the other side I could tolerate it, but it's like they are inside with me! I have called the police on a few occasions and again last night. They finally went to my neighbors, although I don't know what happened.

It is winter now and they are leaving the dogs out in this frigid weather. If they leave them out again, I'm calling the SPCA to report them. I live on a small street with only two other houses besides mine and those neighbors, and one has to be the mayor of our town! He doesn't do a damn thing.

I’ve had this same problem for three and a half years. My neighbor has about eight or nine hunting dogs; originally he had 16 hunting dogs. I moved to Virginia and I guess hunting with dogs is big down here. Anyway, I initially sent a letter to my neighbor after living here for about a month and listening to the dogs bark day and night continuously; honestly they probably barked about 18-20 hours a day. This was 16 barking hunting dogs when I first moved in. The noise was unbelievable! Additionally, I am their only close neighbor in a small family community that is surrounded by acres of farm land. (I wasn’t aware that it was originally a family compound. I would never have purchased the property, which I’m sure that’s why it wasn’t disclosed by the seller, a family member.)

I sent a letter to the neighbors after being here about a month, telling them the dog barking was a problem that needed to be addressed and I would like to talk with them. They never bothered to contact me, by phone or mail and the dogs continued to bark at everything and nothing.

After another few weeks, I called the police. They came and advised I call animal control. The neighbor did come over after my call to the police and we talked for about 30 minutes. His suggestion to resolve the noise problem was for him to erect a fence in front of his kennel but he didn’t have money right them so this would take a few months. That was in Nov. 2006, and there is still no fence four years later. He’s purchased several new vehicles, appliances, John Deere tractor, front end loader, etc. over those four years.

This went on for a for years, the barking, me calling the police, me calling animal control, me taping the dogs barking, me keeping logs of dogs barking, me taking sound measurements of dog barking 60-75 decibels on my deck, in my driveway, on my front yard. Over a three-year period, I probably called the police and animal control 15-20 times. Basically everyone (police and animal control) just told me to take them to court. The dogs have been gone for several months now. I don’t know why, but if they return and resume their barking behavior I will take court action.

Really, only you can protect your rights and you can only do that by taking your neighbors to court. I’ve learned this the hard way. I wished I played hard ball from the start because my neighbors have been real jerks and I’ve put up with a lot of harassment from my barking dog neighbors and their family members neighbors over the last four years. I could write for a few hours describing all the crap.

I had a neighbor whose dog barked all the time. This dog had a very loud bark. It did not matter what time of day or night it was, the dog would bark at a fart from down the block. I have a Rottweiler of my own and she does not bark unless someone comes on our property, then I tell her stop and she does.

A number of neighbors and myself wrote a letter to the barking dog owner, and nothing happened. I let it go for a while hoping they would do something, but nothing happened. One night at 3 a.m., I had enough after the dog was barking since 2 a.m. I went over to their house, knocked on the door (with the dog going nuts at this point), the guy came to the door and cussed me up and down for waking him up.

I told him his dog wakes the whole neighborhood up all the time. He got mad, I got mad, and to make a long story short. I kicked his butt and got arrested and fined, but I felt great looking down at him and telling him I'll do it again if he doesn't shut that dog up. Needless to say, I paid my dues for my crime and the dog is gone. Sometimes you just have to take one for the team.

I feel for you all, except the person who said get over it! I am completely surrounded 360 degrees by dogs. I have loved dogs for most of my life until about three years ago. I can't even walk in my yard anymore and I mean the whole yard because three of my neighbors dogs will start barking.

You would not believe the smell of feces, urine, and unwashed dog. I can't even smell the flowers anymore, the smell is so strong. I am afraid to fall asleep because so many times before I have been woken up as soon as I just drifted to sleep or at some point during the night and here I am going to class (I'm a college student) with only two or three hours of sleep.

The cops have been notified three times throughout the year and no results. They can all hear their dogs barking and with one neighbor(who lives just a couple of feet away) I put an angry letter in their mailbox with no cursing. I've tried the nice letter. They came up to my face speaking crap that I knew were lies like their dog wasn't a barker and that they would take care of it.

So now, these same neighbors have gotten another dog that barks even more than the first one and put it even closer. I see they like to play dirty. Not one of these neighbors three in all plays with their pets or lets them exercise and then they want to get an attitude when you complain. What else is there to do? I will most likely never like dogs the way I used to.

I feel for all of you who have posted here. Before I go into details, I want to tell you this - get yourself a white noise machine and you will get at least some peace in your own home.

We have been dealing with this jerk next door who has completely ignored our pleas to deal with his seven (yes, seven) outdoor barking dogs. They live outside 24/7 in kennels about five feet away from our bedroom wall. The city code only allows for three dogs per household, so we have reported him a few times.

He has been cited for having too many dogs as well as for health code violations, but somehow ends up having a whole kennel full of dogs barking day and night and torturing us.

We have purchased a number of anti-bark ultrasonic devices and buckets of earplugs with spotty results.

The only thing that has consistently helped us to get a good night's sleep is a white noise generating machine. We have it in our bedroom, and it masks the barking, squabbling, and howling, so we can at least get some sleep at night.

In the meantime, the saga continues, and we pray every day that this jerk and his pack of dogs move away from us to some desolate corner with no other people.

Good luck to all of you and jeers to all inconsiderate jerks who torture their neighbors through their dogs' barking.

I am besieged on both sides of my small house by five barking dogs from two houses. Two years of torture on one side and three months on the other.

I live in Oakland, CA, where Animal Control will not intervene for a barking dog, unless the dog has caused an injury to a human, or has been bloodily abused by the owner. Repeated complaints to the City of Oakland Animal Control have done nothing. There is simply not enough city money to deal with barking dog complaints. I have to move, or kill their dogs and go to jail. Are there barking dogs in prison?

I live with my wife and 8 day old little one in a block of flats. Above us there's a couple and they recently got a puppy.

For 10 days now we have total sleepless nights as this puppy keep barking and it seems they aren't bothered. This morning at 5 a.m. I could not take it any longer and I kindly asked them if they can keep their puppy quiet. But this man turned on me and started swearing at me and calling me all sorts of words. He did not want to listen to a single word I said to him.

Any ideas from anyone as this is becoming a living hell. my wife had to go through an emergency c-section for my baby's delivery and she needs a good night sleep.

I purchased a house last year next to a family with a dog. He barks on and off all day, everyday. I'm a teacher and I needed to concentrate while calculating grades last year. Needless to say, that was not possible. I am tormented and ready to call the police. Why are people so insensitive. You know when your dog is constantly barking. People need to take care of their pets!

I don't think CDs can emits an ultrasonic sound, which is about 20000 Hz and over. CDs need to be plugged into a stereo system and are designed to deliver sound in the audible spectrum. I think an ultrasonic whistle should do the trick. I am going to try this and blow long and hard when my neighbor's dog barks (but not every time as Skinner, the behavioural psychologist said that negative reinforcers should be of high frequency but not every time).

Listen dog owners, continually barking dogs are a nuisance and very unpleasant to listen to.

Dogs do not have to bark and when they do it is a sign that the owner is lazy and has no control over their dog. Go and get the dog (and you) some training.

My neighbor is so inconsiderate, they let the dogs out at night and they bark right under my window. On weekends, they go to the boyfriend's home and leave the dogs outside from Friday until Sunday afternoon.

You can probably guess when the barking starts: when the street lights come on and it lasts throughout the night. On a windy and rainy day, a portion of the fence blew down and the dogs had a field day tearing up the insulation on my AC unit, knocking over the trash cans and spreading trash over the back yard.

The next day, I was out nailing up the fence, and the neighbor came out right when I finished -- you would figure. One of his statements was: I did see the fence blow down, but didn't think the dogs would go into your yard. Now come on, use common sense here, your dog is digging up the yard, barking all night and they will not take the first opportunity to venture out of their area? Must be the San Antonio way of thinking--not too well.

We have neighbors from hell, including their dogs. I've been living here for over eight years. When I moved in I had a dog and when it would bark, I would control it. I don't believe dogs should bark for no reason. My neighbors had a poodle that would run to the fence and start barking its head off. The dog would even bark if I opened the back door. This dog also sat in the front window and barked at everything that would go by and even me in my own yard and wouldn't stop until I was out of sight.

I lost my dog over a year ago and the barking is getting to me. They now have another small dog who barks even worse than the poodle. The owners don't care. They think it's great that they bark. This way they know that someone is around. We weren't able to enjoy our backyard this summer as the dogs bark at us. That's all they do is bark! We now have a dog and we will train it not to bark, and actually the puppy is so scared of the barking dogs.

Nothing works with these people; they don't care! But we've had enough, and we need it to stop cause we are about to go over the edge. Thinking about getting one of those ultrasonic dog barking machines, but I don't want to hurt my dog with it. Any ideas?

My neighbors have three dogs and they are put outside at 7 a.m. every morning. That's fine unless I'm working the late shift and would like to sleep in.

Their back yard is very close to my bedroom window. We have lots of walkers and runners in our neighborhood so they bark constantly at them, and even start howling once in a while. Two of the labs will howl together and it's so annoying.

Every time I walk outside onto my deck, they bark at me. I grew up with the same dogs and they have never acted this way.

My neighbors are aware of the problem, because they do it while they are at home as well. Should I talk to them or just send an anonymous note?

RE: dogs bark for a reason. You're just the type who lets a dog bark. Sure it's barking for a reason: because you don't look after it. Just because a cat is in your garden doesn't mean other people want to hear your dog barking all hours. Think of your neighbours having to listen to it all day. You shouldn't own a dog if all you do is keep it outside to bark at pointless things forever.

I have the same problem and I go to neighbours and nicely tell them to keep their dog inside. I have three of them, and they all bark at different times. I really can't stand dogs anymore, even if I did grow up on a farm. Constant barking is ridiculous.

Anyway, about the dog whistles and dog CDs. Do you know if cats will hear them and be effected? I will definitely buy one if it will drive the dogs crazy but don't want my cat to pick up on the sound. Probably a dumb question but any ideas would be great.

by the way, throwing it a bone and talking to it does nothing! lol I have tried for two years now. Thanks.

The world is going down hill. Why? Because of the lack of respect and common courtesy. I own my town house. My bedroom is attached to my neighbors, below that is our back doors, where their dogs like to bark. Not at night, but from 6 a.m. on. I should be able to sleep in if I'd like, but can't!

First, I called animal control and they went and talked to her. A few days later it started again. I went to my neighbor and she said they are just playing. She said they bark inside and she deals with headaches so she puts them outside. She says she doesn't even notice them barking outside, blah, blah, blah. She has been trying to control it. It has gotten better.

All people are different. For those people who say get over it, are clearly not bothered by it. We should respect how others feel. You are responsible for your dogs!

I own three dogs: a weimaraner, a pit and lab mix and a jack russell. I train and control my animals. If the only the world could be a respectful place.

My neighbor is the neighbor from hell and his dogs. My mum has asked politely if he could maybe leave the dogs some toys or something. He said he would but he didn't. Our other neighbor can also hear these dogs bark constantly.

He goes fishing at 5.00 in the morning and they bark from then on till he gets back which could be maybe to 6 p.m.! I was ill the other day and at the weekend was woke up at 6.30 a.m., and it isn't acceptable. We have called the rspca, the council, everything. You name it. They do absolutely nothing, he has been asked and been told to get rid of the dogs within two weeks, and failing to comply he will kicked out of his house.

We are moving soon so it isn't a big deal for us, but we are renting out our house, and cannot have tenants dealing with irritable dogs! Hopefully within the next two weeks, we can have some peace and quite!

See, my dog doesn't bark through the night but she does bark at the creeps that try to crawl over our fence at night or the gazillion animals that no one else cares to stop from getting into our yard.

Maybe if other people would be so kind as to mind their own business and keep their bodies and animals off of other people's property then there wouldn't be a problem. The jerk next door yells "shut that bleeping dog up" when she does bark at these things and he just makes her bark more.

People should assess the situation. Dogs do bark for a reason in most cases.

What is wrong with these dog owners? These people are just creeps by nature! To be so inconsiderate of your neighbors as to let your dog bark continuously is just wrong.

If you own a dog, you're responsible for his actions, which includes disturbing your neighbor's time to relax in his own home or yard. I actually moved the last time I had this kind of problem, into a nice quiet neighborhood. Now, a year later, a new neighbor has moved in with his own dog from hell!! I work two jobs and the lack of sleep is killing me!

I have contacted my neighbor about it twice. The police have been notified.

Dogs bark! Get over it. Our next door neighbor has a beagle and he barks the whole time they are gone. We ignore it. Why call the cops? they have better things to do than deal with you. So get a life and deal.

Does anyone have advice for me? My neighbors have two basset hounds that bark all the time when left outside and the houses are very close. However, I have a dog that only barks when strangers walk in front of the house or enter my yard. he does not bark along with the other dogs. (I think he knows they are being bad) and my dog will stop as soon as I tell him to stop.

I am confused what to do because I know they love their dogs and they do pay attention to them, but because they work all day, they try to leave the dogs outside as soon as they get home, but it is annoying when I am trying to watch a movie or relax and the dogs bark sometimes for hours straight before they let it/them in.

I do not want to use the dog whistles and things because my dog would be affected and he does not do all of this excessive barking. Any ideas?

We have filed a complaint with the city against one of our neighbors. Fortunately, we do not need an additional household to file--just our own. All of our other neighbors term themselves "tolerant" or too involved in their own problems to get involved, but I work out of the house and it is a distraction.

The owner has three pit bulls. He is a first time dog owner and bought the dogs for "protection." He has failed to socialize the dogs and they bark and growl at each other and at each little sound or rush of wind. The wife appears to be a bit of a neatnik and is also allergic to dogs and is loath to bring them in.

The city found a notice of violation. We'll see how far this escalates. My husband would like to try to call a truce -- and they are trying to control the dogs -- but the barking is too ingrained.

I feel bad for the dogs. They're living in the back yard, not being a part of the family, no mental stimulation. It is no way to live. If these dogs were to break free, I also do not know if anyone in the neighborhood would be safe.

My neighbors and the dogs from Hell!

We had been having trouble for months with our neighbors and their dogs. The dogs will bark all day and all night and it does not seem to bother them.

I have tried everything, from cursing at the neighbors to calling the cops but nothing worked and it seemed like the cops felt like they had better things to do.

I found a stop-barking CD online and I just popped their cd into my stereo and blasted the dog with an ultrasonic sound that humans cannot hear. It worked after one day and I was totally amazed.

Anytime I hear them bark, I give them a taste of the blast just to remind them not to bark. You will love the power of shutting them up!

For under twenty bucks, it was a dream come true!

Just grow a backbone and go around to tell your neighbor. Look at it this way: they obviously don't care that their dog barks all day and annoys you, so why be afraid of falling out with them?

I went around and my neighbor rolled his eyes, as if he was aware of the problem, but was waiting to see if anybody complained before taking action.

I'm giving him a few weeks before contacting environmental health (noise pollution).

I have the same problem but the dog came on my property and I called the police and the officer observed it. They have a date in court. Next time the dog won't be so lucky!

my back yard is adjacent to the this vicious pit bull dog. he got off his chain once and held us hostage in our own home. he jumped the fence. the lady said she would get rid of the dog but didn't. I have small grand kids and I'm afraid to play with them in the back yard. what can i do? we go outside and whether it's the back or front and it's a constant barking and growling. I'm afraid of the dog. Leona